Breakdown of Fundurinn gleymdist þegar óveðrið byrjaði.
byrja
to start
fundurinn
the meeting
þegar
when
óveðrið
the storm
gleymast
to get forgotten
Questions & Answers about Fundurinn gleymdist þegar óveðrið byrjaði.
Why do we use the -st verb gleymdist here instead of a passive phrase like 'var gleymdur'?
Gleymdist is the middle voice of gleyma (to forget). While you can form a passive with the verb 'to be' in Icelandic, the -st form is highly preferred for spontaneous actions or things that 'just happen' without a specific doer. It gives the natural sense that the meeting simply slipped everyone's mind.
The active verb gleyma normally takes a dative object. Why is fundurinn in the nominative case here?
This is a key rule for middle voice verbs! When an active sentence has a dative object (like ég gleymdi fundinum - I forgot the meeting), that object usually becomes the subject when turned into a passive/spontaneous -st verb. When it becomes the subject, it switches back to the default nominative case (fundurinn).
What is the literal breakdown of the word óveðrið?
It breaks down into the negative prefix ó- (meaning un- or bad), the noun veður (weather), and the attached neuter definite article -ið (the). So it literally means 'the bad weather', which is the standard Icelandic word for a storm.
If I move the þegar clause to the beginning of the sentence, how does the word order change?
Because Icelandic enforces the V2 (verb-second) rule, the entire Þegar... clause counts as the first piece of information. The verb of the main clause must come immediately after it. Therefore, the subject and verb swap places: Þegar óveðrið byrjaði, gleymdist fundurinn.
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